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Frances Altick has been playing tennis since she was four years old. Her interest in tennis was sparked by watching her slightly older brother play. Frances thought playing tennis looked fun so she decided to try it. At age 8 she began playing tournaments and now at age 15, she continues to play and has been very successful. Frances is currently ranked number 1 in the state of Louisiana for Girls 16’s and is ranked 16th in Girls 18’s. *

Frances has hopes of playing college tennis at Duke, Vanderbilt, or Northwestern.

To improve her game Frances trains at the Harold Solomon Tennis Institute in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Even though it is quite a way from her home in Louisiana, she absolutely loves it. Age : (Rank G16s) State : LA State Rank : 1 Sect'l Rank : 14 Nat'l Rank: 80 Since she has started training at the academy she has seen vast improvements in her play and tournament results. At the academy she practices on court four hours a day, two hours of drills and two hours of point play, than another hour off court for fitness and conditioning. She keeps this schedule Monday through Friday, on Saturday she plays for two hours and then Sunday is her well-deserved rest day. She says the coaches at the academy are some of the best she has ever worked with, in fact she has even learned to speak a little Russian.

Frances enjoys being active and playing all sports but is drawn to tennis because of the independence. She loves that fact that if you win, you can be proud of yourself because you did it without any teammates or coaches but if you lose, you can’t pin the blame on poor teammates or a bad coach. Besides tennis Frances does have many other interests, she loves to read, write, ride horseback, go to the movies, and hang out with her friends. She does not watch too much television but when she does she enjoys watching old television shows, “I Love Lucy” is one of her favorites. She says, “I may not have the most free time, but I get a lot out of it and I make sure to enjoy it.” “I may not have the most free time, but I get a lot out of it and I make sure to enjoy it.”

Frances is not the only one in her family that plays in tennis tournaments. She also has two younger sisters Hannah (12) and Abi (11) both are already playing in sectional and national tournaments. Some of their friends have named the three sisters the “Altick Triple Threat.” Frances says maybe one day they can be like the Bryan Brothers or the Williams Sisters and all end of playing professional tennis. Frances’ family is very important to her, she would like to thank her parents who she says, “gave me the opportunity to develop my talents and reach my potential. They always encourage and support me after both wins and losses.” This kind of support from her family is definitely one of the reasons Frances has been such a successful tennis player.

When Frances thinks about her future she has hopes of playing college tennis at Duke, Vanderbilt, or Northwestern. She has already begun thinking of her career path, she has thought about going into journalism, medicine, or maybe turning pro in tennis. Her drive and determination that have made her so successful in tennis will definitely bring her great success in whatever she decides to do.